


Taking The Next Step

by afteriwake



Series: In The City [2]
Category: CSI: NY, Castle
Genre: Castle Is Right, Castle Sees Things Pretty Clearly, Crossover, Crossover Pairings, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Developing Relationship, F/M, First Dates, Friends to Lovers, Holding Hands, Male-Female Friendship, POV Kate Beckett, Relationship Discussions, Teasing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-19
Updated: 2017-05-19
Packaged: 2018-11-02 16:07:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10948005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: Both Beckett and Flack have come to realize their friendship has started to develop into something more, except it takes Castle to get Beckett to realize it.





	Taking The Next Step

**Author's Note:**

> I know I skipped a lot to get to this point when I originally started the series, but as there seems to be interest now Imay go back and fill things in a bit.

She wasn’t sure when her feelings about him had changed. He was still a friend, but after months of them propping each other up to get by, she suddenly realized she wanted more than a friendship.

And it was Castle who made her realize it.

She’d made her peace with him a few months prior for looking into her mother’s death when it finally sank in that, if the case was reopened, she may finally have justice. And having justice, in this case, meant more to her than anyone realized. Anyone except Lanie and Flack, that is. She was completely open and honest with both of them.

And she received it in return. Flack told her she was one of three people who knew what _really_ happened the night he helped get Connor Dunbrooks’s son back, and the knowledge of what she knew, and that she was one of the few people in his life that _knew_ it, made her feel special. She’d found another true friend, someone she trusted with her secrets as well as her life, and she intended to continue things as they were until Castle opened up his big mouth.

“You seem to have a certain spring in your step these days,” Castle drawled toward her one afternoon. “Get back from seeing someone special?”

“Just had lunch with a friend,” she replied, glaring at him.

“The same friend you have lunch with every week?” he asked with a slight smirk.

“Yes,” she replied, rolling her eyes. “He’s a detective out in Manhattan.”

“Known him long?”

“A few years.”

“Good friends?”

She planted her hands on her desk, leaned forward and stared at him. “I have lunch with him every week. What do _you_ think?”

“ _I_ think,” he said, leaning back in his chair, “that you would like to spend more time with him. A lot more.”

She thought about the weekly lunches and the visits after work two or three times a week. “I see him enough.”

“But you _want_ to see him more,” he said. “Weekly isn’t enough for you. You like his company. And I bet being around him fills up an empty space for you.”

She was saved from having to reply when Esposito came in with a new lead. As she grabbed her jacket, though, she silently admitted to herself that, once again, Rick Castle was right.

**\--**

Tonight was his time to come over. At lunch they’d decided staying in was better than hitting a bar because they’d both had long weeks. Only now she was thinking that this wasn’t such a smart idea. Who knew what would happen if she admitted she wanted something more here? If they were in public she could make a graceful exit, but here in her own home...

There was a knock at the door before she could think about it anymore. She opened it and took a good look at him and the bags he was carrying. “You still like kung pao chicken?” he asked.

She nodded and grinned. “I like potstickers, too,” she said as she let him in.

“Good thing I picked some up then,” he replied. He went over to her table and set everything down while she went to get plates. “Picked up some beer, too, since I didn’t know if you had some.”

“Ryan got my last bottle. He was supposed to get me more but I have yet to see it, and I doubt I will.” She set the plates next to the food and helped him get everything out. She could handle things, she thought to herself. As long as she didn’t touch him, she could get through tonight.

“You know, Messer cornered me today, asked why I wasn’t hanging out with him more.”

“Yeah? What’d you say?” she asked, going still.

“Told him I was hanging out with a better crowd these days.” He grinned at her. “He made it seem like a crime I wasn’t out with him and Lindsay more.”

“Well, they have a kid. And wouldn’t you be feeling like a third wheel?”

“That’s pretty much how I feel about it,” he said with a nod. “I mean, Lucy’s a pretty good baby, but being there isn’t the same anymore.” He shrugged. “To be honest, these days I feel more comfortable here.”

She looked at him. “Really?”

He nodded slowly. “Danny’s probably always going to be my best friend, but his life has changed a lot and there isn’t as much of a place for me in it anymore.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, forgetting what she’d thought earlier and reaching over for his hand.

He looked down at it, and then turned his hand over, holding hers slightly. “You don’t need to be sorry, Kate. I wasn’t lying when I said I was around better company these days. I look forward to spending time with you. Kinda wish I could spend more time with you, actually.”

She took a breath, thought a moment, and finally asked a question she hoped would clear things up. “What do you mean, Don?”

He was quiet for a moment. “I was thinking one of these days you wouldn’t mind me taking you out on an actual date.”

She was speechless. After a minute Flack began to pull his hand away but she grabbed it again. “Sorry. I just…you want to ask me out?”

“You know, maybe this wasn’t such a good idea,” he said.

“No! No, Don, it’s a good idea. Honest. I just…wasn’t expecting it. I _wanted_ it, I just didn’t think you wanted it too. You know?”

“Yeah, I’ve got a good idea,” he said with a huge grin.

“You know,” she said, “we can shove all this in the fridge and go see a movie or something,” she suggested. “Eat out.”

“You willing to eat all this food?” he asked.

“Whatever you bought for you to eat I can just give to you when we get back,” she pointed out.

“Hadn’t thought about that,” he said with a sheepish grin. “But yeah, movie and dinner sounds like a plan for the evening.”

She started putting everything back in the bags, amazed at the turn of events. The only downside was when Castle found out he was going to gloat. She took a look at Flack and realized that it didn’t matter. She could handle a little gloating from Castle as long as she was happy.


End file.
